#3M N95 mask for Sale bulk

[shr0mwzrd]

As my brilliant wife pointed out above, we got our whole setup for less than $100 (prices fluctuate quite a bit but the prices tend to be in that ballpark - we were lucky) for the both of us, including:

- two half-face base pieces in small (they have S, M, L sizes - 6100, 6200, 6300) which are infinitely reusable as long as you periodically clean them and don't like, destroy the straps or something. Usually $20ish each but currently on sale for $12.99!

https://a.co/d/9uYIL3K

- 6 pack of exhalation valve filters (admittedly the most expensive part, but they last a good while before needing replacement - just be VERY CAREFUL not to grab / jostle the exhalation filter too much bc it's held on by two VERY fragile plastic clips 😅 ask me how I know) we got our initial set for like $35ish on Amazon IIRC but they keep getting more expensive on Amazon specifically 😅 I would recommend looking at other vendors or going off-brand (but compatible, obviously) on the exhalation valve filters (reminder, those are to protect OTHERS - the main filters described below protect YOU)

https://a.co/d/aGaUKUF

- a pack of 6 (3 pairs) of P100 filters. Now, we got these direct from 3M for the first round, but they were a tad expensive. We recently got a 40-pack (20 pairs!) of compatible NIOSH 2097 filters which are P100-grade with an additional activated carbon layer that blocks a LOT of nuisance odors. My wife wears hers to scoop litter, for example. Available on Amazon for $43 at the time of posting, or roughly $2.15 per pair. Change them out once they start to get harder to breath through or get gross - we usually change them about once a month for our usage rate but your mileage WILL vary.

https://a.co/d/5KvYP2m

Assuming you can find exhalation valves cheaper elsewhere or budget is tight and you have to skip the exhalation filters for now and just worry about protecting yourself / your household, you can get set up for less than $100ish per person, and that price lowers as you can share the cost of bulk filters with more people obvs. And these things last! So long! If you're buying disposable / semi-reusable N95s or whatever, they might be cheaper up front for a box, but not by very much and the half-face with replaceable filters is WAY cheaper to use over time.

And that's not even to speak of fitment and comfort!

Before switching to these, I had a really hard time getting a proper seal around my larger, hooked nose with any of the various N95s we tried, which was very stressful as well as obviously unsafe. But these!!!! I wear the small size, and between the little nose bump section and the give in the material, it is VERY easy for me to get a complete seal, and it doesn't even hurt my nose! Since there's both a wide over-head harness and a strap that clips around your neck, the weight is distributed very well and I can comfortably wear it for an outing lasting several hours. Speaking of, y'know how gross the inside of cloth masks/respirators get when you breath out or are unlucky enough to sneeze? The way these sit on your face, there's a pretty solid like inch gap between your face and the interior surfaces of the respirator. Condensation will naturally still collect, but it won't touch your face, and is very easy to wipe up and sanitize when you get home!

Obviously YMMV, but I HIGHLY recommend this route if you can take it. If you're not sure but are interested, start by just getting the face shield part so you can do fit checks and see if it's comfortable and you can get a good seal.

How to test your seal:

1) temporarily remove the inhalation and exhalation filters, if present

2) first, use your palms to create a firm seal around both of the holes the inhalation filters mount to and try to take a deep breath. If you have a proper seal, you should not be able to breathe any air in, since you're blocking the only two viable paths of ingress (the exhalation area has a one-way valve, so air can only *leave* through that hole)

3) correspondingly, use one palm to block the exhalation area and try to breath out - you shouldn't be able to!

If you are able to get a proper seal while also being comfortable (sometimes it takes some fiddling with how much tension is in the upper vs lower strap), then all you need is a box of filters and you're set! We like to use the exhalation valves, but especially at the current price for 1st party 3m ones on Amazon right now, I know those can be cost-prohibitive for some people. Even without them, you're massively improving your own safety, and therefore decreasing the odds of you transmitting *any* airborne illnesses to the people and/or pets you live with.

Stay safe out there!

Hi! Sorry if this is a dumb question, but what do you know about reusable covid-safe masks? I've never stopped wearing the fabric masks, but I'd like to step up my protection. I'm also just worried about all the trash single-use masks will produce -- I want to be environmentally responsible too -- but a lot of mask resources don't seem to specify much on reusability/washability. I'd be really grateful for anything you can send my way.

First off, reusable filters don't offer enough protection. You need at least n95 rated material, and washing it breaks it down and removes its electrostatic charge, rendering it less protective. There's no 100% earthy-crunchy green way to give yourself adequate covid protection. What elastomeric masks do, however, is reduce the amount of waste in reducing filter size. This also brings the cost of filters down in most cases. Some companies exist that recycle masks too, but I only have links Canadian examples and I don't know where you are.

There's a lot of elastomeric masks out there. 3M has over 3 dozen n95 or p100 models to choose from. There's even forced-air options if you wanna go for the absolute best protection, but in all but the highest risk and research covid scenarios, it's major overkill.

Because I don't know you or your measurements, I can't tell you what mask will 100% fit you. Personally, my everyday wear is a big-nose model Flo Mask, and for high risk scenarios, I break out my MSA Advantage 300. There's dozens of models and levels of protection out there ranging from full face, forced air respirators to the thong-like B99 B2 that only barely covers my mouth and nose. The zero covid reddit might be a great place to ask people for recommendations based upon your concerns with fitting an elastomeric to your specific face type: low/high bridge, shallow/chubby cheeks, and chin size all impact which elastomeric is likely to get and keep a good seal in use. You might have to buy 2 or 3 before you find *the one* is a problem you may encounter, but of all the elastomerics I've seen, Flo Mask has the best general fit and would be a good starting point.

Basically, even disposable masks will prevent you using even more resources and plastics and such by keeping you healthy and out of the hospital. Someone who uses and throws away 2 or 4 masks every couple weeks (depending on your specific needs, could be a little more if you like sweat at work a lot or something) is far less impact than a ICU stay for covid. Also, you could help prevent covid *and* offset everyone's mask waste by eliminating Taylor Swift since she flies two private jets to all her events which spread more covid than any other superspreader event. (For legal reasons, I am joking)

[co-defend]

With the advent of a novel H1N1 influenza outbreak in spring 2009 and the expectation of a second wave during the 2009–2010 flu season, there has been considerable interest in the use of surgical masks (facemasks) and N95 Masks as infection control measures. Does this work during Covid-19 Outbreak as well? Let's Find Out.

[cleanhealthusa]

Trouble Picking Between KN95 And N95 Mask: Know Where To Invest

With the universal epidemic of Covid-19, respirators and surgical masks and other epidemic deterrence equipment are in short supply. As we all know, the n95 breathing masks are the most suggested model amongst Covid-19’s protective masks. So what is the difference between KN95 and N95? Can KN95 be used in place of N95? What is the difference between varying models of N95 masks like N95 8210, N95 9210, and N95 1860? In this piece of writing, we will give you a comprehensive prologue about KN95 vs N95 mask.

What are the KN95 and N95 mask?

KN95 masks are masks that meet the needs of China GB2626 standards, and “GB” stands for China standards. This refers to the filtration competence of ≥ 95 percent for non-oily elements.

The N95 mask refers to the United States NIOSH recognition, the norm is also non-oily particulate matter filtration competence ≥ 95 percent.

Thus, we can comprehend that the real effect of KN95 and N95 is the same, the non-oily particle filtration competence ≥ 95 percent, which is very efficient for COVID-10, coronavirus protection.

The CDC (US Centers for Disease Control) tells KN95 masks are as efficient as N95 masks and are one of the numerous “apt substitutes” for N95 masks that are “in short supply. Going by 3M, the earth’s biggest mask maker, the K95 is similar to the N95 and can be looked forward to very similar in purpose.

Thus, in the situation of a lack of epidemic deterrence resources, K95 can play the same defensive role as an N95 mask.

There are various other mask models in addition to the most appropriate KN95 and N95. For instance, KN90, KF94, FFFP2, and FFP3 masks. So what is the difference between all these masks? Which respirator has the highest level of defense?

Business owners and retailers if you won't put out N95 and kn95 protective mask for sale then make sure you source your products from the most trusted manufacturer in the industry. Get in touch with the support team, request for a quote, and then place your bulk order and they will reach out to you for the same.

[schrodingers-opinion]

COMMODITIES THAT THRIVED DURING THE PANDEMIC

INTRODUCTION

Ever since the coronavirus outbreak became a global issue, billions were affected, millions lost and hundreds of thousands unemployed. This has been a challenge on both small businesses and Multi-National Companies (MNCs), making us realise that none of us were prepared with an infrastructure for a crisis this big. According to a United Nations report dated 6th April 2020, 90 countries were under a complete lockdown and more than 4 billion people were quarantined limiting their options and opportunities to consume products by not just declining access but also the requirements of a majority of them, especially when considering the Fashion industry where brands like Zara had to shut down 1200 of its stores. According to a World Bank report dated 8th June 2020, the global economy witnessed a 5.2 percent contraction in global GDP- the deepest recession in decades.

Share of economies in recession, 1871-2021

The proportion of economies with an annual contraction in per capita GDP. Data for 2020-2021 are forecasts by the World Bank.

Industries such as cleaning, delivery and telehealth services witnessed a high rise while several sectors like the entertainment industry faced huge losses leaving several unemployed. However, this pandemic also brought an extensive opportunity for certain commodities whose requirements and substantially their demands had increased to a point never seen before.

A few commodities/services whose sales increased broadly in the course of this pandemic are as follows:

1.    Masks- Even though the Mask industry has been alive for more than a century, its usage was restricted to a great extent. It was a commodity limited to very few operations such as mining, catering and the medical field. However, the face masks segment of the sanitation and protection sector dominated the industry, book-keeping a share of 35.8%. The global face mask market was worth 6.2 billion USD in 2017 and is expected to reach 31.83 billion USD by 2027.

 Share of exports of face masks, by country, 2017

  Vertical Web Media LLC states in its report that the U.S. consumers spent close to 601.75 million online on face masks, registering a 14.9% increment from 2018. The first few countries to include mask usage in national mandates are Vietnam and Czech Republic. Considering how unforeseen the pandemic was for each and nearly each and every nation of the world, the mask industry had to begin supplying the commodities at a much greater scale trying to fulfil the demands of the people which also became an issue due to the limitation of the resources hence leading to export bans from many countries who prioritised their own citizens’ requirements. The Centres for disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has advised Americans since April of 2019 to use face coverings to not just “slow but also stop the spread of the virus” as said by the CDC director. 3M a leading U.S. based face mask manufacturing company had doubled global production of N95 masks to about 100 million a month as of a march 25th 2020 report and is reported to have produced more than 2 billion respirators globally. The company also managed to increase its annual production to 2.5 billion N95 respirators, an evident and surpassing rise over 2019 indicating a global surge of respiratory assisting products across the globe.

 2.     Sanitizers- This disinfecting anti-bacterial gel has only been commercially available for a few decades but is clearly become a daily usage product, more like a necessity now. Since the inception of the present dominant health crisis and the situations as they are today being unexpected, the industry faced a major “supply shortage” due to the unforeseen spike in demand as stated by the leading U.S. based sanitizer brand BeCleanse. The Global News Wire predicts in its reports that the market size for sanitizers will be worth 1.97 billion dollars by 2026. Market research by Nielsen shows extraordinary sales record in the last week of February 2020 as sales for the product were up by 300% in the U.S. compared to the same week a year before that and the first week of March 2020 witnessed a sales rise of 470% compared to the same week a year before that, an industry that already manages more than $200 million in annual sales of hand sanitizing products. Due to the supply shortage the prices for the same have skyrocketed as well, as a consequence of this unusual high demand anomaly leading law enforcement officials in many states to be threatening prosecution for price-gouging against third-party sellers like Amazon.

 Sanitizers became expensive due to less availability and high demand as shown in the following graphical representation as per a CNBC report-

The y-axis represents price (in USD) of an 8-ounce bottle of Purell hand sanitizer and the x-axis represents two cost situations; 1. Nominal cost (pre-covid) and 2. New cost due to supply shortage (during covid).

 3.     Liquor- Forbes in the list of industries that thrived during the pandemic ranks liquor on the 4th position showcasing how people turned to alcohol basis consumptions for both domestic and industrial uses (to make sanitizers). As even witnessed in the past, during the 2003 SARS epidemic, the quarantined individuals were more likely to use alcohol as a coping mechanism. By April 2020, many U.S. states relaxed their alcohol laws to provide financial support to the liquor industry and for the first time, adults could order liquor availabilities like beer, wine and scotch for curb side or home delivery. The week ending on March 21, 2020 recorded a 54% increase in off-premises alcohol sales in the United Sates where as in a survey in Poland a 14.6% increase in alcohol-consumption was reported. Due to the current pandemic alcohol consumption can be demanded and supplied via online services making it contact-less and convenient in these unprecedented times.

The following chart is the representation of how not only did the liquor sales observed a drastic increase but how they were more effective due to additional provisions of home delivery-

The y-axis represents percentage increase in sales and the x-axis represents different dates March and April of 2020; 1- March 7; 2- March 14; 3- March 21; 4- March 28; 5- April 4; 6- April 11; 7- April 18 and 8- April 25. The orange line represents delivery/online services and the blue line represents takeaways with the customer’s presence.

4.     Internet Service- Started as a research project and is now a global commercial network since 1990s. With more than 4.3 billion active internet users in the year 2019, minor task completion has become much easier, more convenient and quicker. However, this service was surely a blessing in disguise amidst this global pandemic which forced us to stay separated physically but let us stay connected virtually and allowed us to work, carry out transactions, complete operations and various domestic and professional functions by merely sitting at home. Objectives that wouldn’t have been fulfilled like staying connected to learning are a reality now through online schools. The global peak traffic increasing by 47% compared to the predicted increase of 28%, OTT platforms like Netflix witnessed subscription of 16 million new subscribers, uploads to the cloud increased significantly along with Video Calling increasing by 80%. $20 billion was raised for Jio, a leading digital service providing brand in India during the months of lockdown showing the investors’ confidence on huge requirements of internet services in the form of public demand.

The following graphical presentation shows broadband subscription per 100 people in different countries-

The grey line represents South Korea, orange is for the United States and blue displays the data for the whole world as an average.

The y-axis is for the number of subscriptions and the x-axis is for time. 1. year 2000, 2. 2005, 3. 2010, 4. 2015 and 5. 2017 (data for 2021 has not yet been declared).

 CONCLUSION

The entire world was in an economic dilemma, many faced huge losses that they couldn’t overcome and a number of them survived. In a single year 280 plus companies went bankrupt, thousands rendered unemployed with absolutely no source of income while the basic expenses became more and more expensive due to the scarce supply amid pandemic. However, as mentioned in the given report, this was also a turning point for many industries. As the sales and the records speak for themselves, the mentioned commodities that were not very common before the pandemic became basic necessities in the world. According to researchers many of the industries that are thriving and growing in today’s era will be expecting a growth at diminishing rate for the next 5-7 years, the global face mask market, for instance was worth 6.2 billion USD in 2017 and is expected to reach 31.83 billion USD by 2027. But again, there’s never a guarantee, in spite of statistical predictions, we didn’t see a global pandemic coming our way until it was here; reminding me of something John Galbraith once said, “The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable.”

REFERENCES

BeCleanse. (n.d.). Hand Sanitizer Manufacturing Process & Bulk Production. becleanse.com. https://www.becleanse.com/hand-sanitizer-manufacturing-process/

business wire. (2018, October 2). The Global Face Mask Market 2017-2018, Forecast to 2023: Analysis by Type, Type of Packaging, Distribution Channel and Region - ResearchAndMarkets.com. businesswire.com. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181002005450/en/The-Global-Face-Mask-Market-2017-2018-Forecast-to-2023-Analysis-by-Type-Type-of-Packaging-Distribution-Channel-and-Region---ResearchAndMarkets.com

CNBC. (2020, March 28). SUCCESS The history of hand sanitizer—how the coronavirus staple went from mechanic shops to consumer shelves. cnbc.com. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/27/coronavirus-the-history-of-hand-sanitizer-and-why-its-important.html

Felter, C. (2020, August 4). Which Countries Are Requiring Face Masks? cfr.org. https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/which-countries-are-requiring-face-masks

Firstpost & Bhattacharjya, M. (2020, June 21). For global fashion industry, impact of coronavirus pandemic presents both crisis — and opportunity to recast itself. firstpost.com. https://www.firstpost.com/living/for-global-fashion-industry-impact-of-coronavirus-pandemic-presents-both-crisis-and-opportunity-to-recast-itself-8493781.html

Forbes. (2020, December 18). Industries Thriving During The Pandemic. forbes.com. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2020/12/18/industries-thriving-during-the-pandemic/?sh=1c9e02da7a03

Fortune India. (2021, August 5). Why Jio got massive funding despite Covid lockdown. fortuneindia.com. https://www.fortuneindia.com/enterprise/why-jio-got-massive-funding-despite-covid-lockdown/105694

Internet Society. (2020, December 9). COVID-19 Impact on Internet Performance. internetsociety.org. https://www.internetsociety.org/resources/doc/2020/the-impact-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-on-internet-performance-in-afghanistan-nepal-and-sri-lanka/

NCBI. (2020, December). Alcohol Consumption during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey of US Adults. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7763183/

NielsenIQ. (2020, May 7). Rebalancing the "COVID-19 effect' on alcohol sales. nielseniq.com. https://nielseniq.com/global/en/insights/analysis/2020/rebalancing-the-covid-19-effect-on-alcohol-sales/

OECD. (2020, May 4). The face mask global value chain in the COVID-19 outbreak: Evidence and policy lessons. oecd.com. https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/the-face-mask-global-value-chain-in-the-covid-19-outbreak-evidence-and-policy-lessons-a4df866d/

supply chain dive. (2021, January 28). 3M increases N95 production rate to 2.5B annually. supplychaindive.com. https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/3m-n95-mask-respirator-production-ppe-supply-chain/594073/

Violence against women and girls: the shadow pandemic. (2020, april 6). unwomen.org. https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2020/4/statement-ed-phumzile-violence-against-women-during-pandemic

world bank. (2020, june 8). The Global Economic Outlook During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Changed World. worldbank.org. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2020/06/08/the-global-economic-outlook-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-a-changed-world

[gordonwilliamsweb]

A Year Into Pandemic, Federal Officials Design New Mask Guidelines to Better Protect More Workers

Federal officials announced new measures to help get fresh, new N95 masks to health care workers and expand their use in other industries after scientists argued that the highly protective masks are essential to keep workers safe from covid-19.

Use Our Content

It can be republished for free.

The changes come as U.S. mask-makers say the demand from hospitals is so sluggish that they’ve laid off 2,000 workers and fear some new protective gear companies could collapse. Yet in a letter to lawmakers, hospitals cite ongoing concerns about scarce supplies, saying limits on which workers should get N95s must stay in place.

Among the new moves: The Food and Drug Administration plans to eventually revoke its approval of the widespread crisis-era practice of decontaminating N95 respirators and returning them to front-line workers to use again.

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official also announced a tweak to its guidelines, which used to say the protective N95 respirators were reserved for health workers. Now they are “prioritized” for those workers but will be OK for bulk sales to other employers — a step that should boost overall demand.

A group of prominent scientists had written to the White House in February, saying a broader swath of U.S. workers need more protection from the airborne virus. And on March 1, U.S. mask-makers wrote to President Joe Biden decrying a glut of nearly 300 million N95 or equivalent respirators that were made in this country and sitting unused in warehouses.

KHN also reported that in January federal officials approved the export of U.S. N95s amid mounting unsold inventory, a move a nurses union leader called “unconscionable.”

Lloyd Armbrust, president of the American Mask Manufacturers Association, took a career U-turn to launch Armbrust American and start making masks near Austin, Texas, last year, troubled by “cheap, flimsy” personal protective equipment coming in from overseas: “We … decided to take matters into our own hands.” He said that he was gratified to see federal officials respond to U.S. mask-makers’ concerns and that he expects to see sales rise in coming months.

But he said it’s been a shock for the upstart industry to try and fail over many months to break into the U.S. health care market — dominated by large group purchasing organizations — where the preference to buy from China is ingrained.

“Who knows how many health care workers are getting infected, maybe dying, because of a logistics problem that doesn’t exist,” he said. “That was very frustrating. As a human, that was hard for me to understand.”

Armbrust said about 50 U.S. mask-makers the association represents reported in a survey that they’ve collectively laid off about 2,000 workers in recent months amid sluggish demand. They expect some companies to fail.

Mike Bowen, vice president of Prestige Ameritech, another Texas-based N95 maker, said he has reduced production because he has 11 million masks on hand. “I am waiting to see if [the] FDA announcement will make hospitals buy more N95s,” he said by email. “If they do, we’ll make what they need. We have a lot of N95 manufacturing capacity.”

Yet even through last month, the American Hospital Association cited supply chain concerns in a letter to lawmakers and endorsed existing CDC guidelines that allow health workers to use a surgical mask unless performing an aerosol-generating procedure. (Although some experts now say a cough produces more aerosols than such procedures.)

Another change by the CDC would allow major retailers like Amazon to sell N95s in bulk to businesses outside the health care sector, said Maryann D’Alessandro, director of the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health lab for personal protective technology.

Researchers and journalists have noted elevated workplace risk to bus drivers, meatpacking employees, and those in manufacturing and food processing who labor in crowded conditions.

D’Alessandro said the agency also approved several models of durable “elastomeric” respirators that are meant to be reused, including one by 3M, and signed a contract to add 375,000 to the Strategic National Stockpile.

That move might serve to protect more health care workers in the case of a variant surge or new pandemic. Health care workers were two to five times more likely than the average person to get covid, studies have shown.

KHN and The Guardian counted more than 3,600 health care workers who died over the past 12 months, many of them people of color and most working outside of hospitals. In interviews with families and colleagues, dozens raised concerns about inadequate protective gear.

Throughout the pandemic, workers who used N95 respirators were routinely asked to put them in a brown paper sack so they could be disinfected by gas, UV light or other means and then returned to them to wear again. Nurses have complained that the respirators, which are designed to be used once, come back misshapen or with a chemical odor.

The FDA on Friday sent a letter to health care providers urging them to “transition away from crisis capacity conservation strategies,” including the disinfection and reuse of disposable N95s.

The letter is one step toward revoking the “emergency use authorizations” that allowed companies to disinfect and reuse N95s, said Suzanne Schwartz, director of the FDA’s Office of Strategic Partnerships and Technology Innovation.

“That was never intended to be anything other than a crisis measure,” Schwartz said in an interview. “We want to be sure health care facilities are getting themselves in a situation where they have respirators or reusables in stock.”

Surveys by National Nurses United from November and February show that about 80% of nurses reported using reprocessed respirators.

The changes are “tiny steps” in the right direction but fall short of what’s needed to fully protect nurses, said Jane Thomason, lead industrial hygienist for National Nurses United.

She said about half of more than 9,000 nurses surveyed report working in hospitals where patients are not universally screened for covid, presenting the potential for pre- or asymptomatic patients to infect staffers.

The CDC guidance updated in February advising health workers to use N95s or well-fitted masks to care for covid patients remains nonbinding, she said, allowing employers to outfit nurses and other health workers in surgical masks instead of more protective N95s.

The practice has been controversial even after the initial supply chain collapse. Doctors on Twitter reacted strongly to a recent debate held by the University of Calgary where two academics pointed to evidence that covid is airborne — meriting N95 protection for front-line health workers. 

Another doctor argued that the coronavirus is primarily spread by droplets — a position held by many U.S. hospital leaders. 

Nurses called early in the pandemic for a high level of protection against an airborne virus, but in many places have had to stage protests to get it or go without.

Since last summer, mounting evidence has shown that health care workers in surgical masks were more likely than those in respirators to catch the coronavirus. Harvard researchers and those in Israel pinpointed specific instances when a patient or visitor in a surgical mask infected health care workers who also wore a surgical mask. 

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

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This story can be republished for free (details).

A Year Into Pandemic, Federal Officials Design New Mask Guidelines to Better Protect More Workers published first on https://nootropicspowdersupplier.tumblr.com/

[stephenmccull]

A Year Into Pandemic, Federal Officials Design New Mask Guidelines to Better Protect More Workers

Federal officials announced new measures to help get fresh, new N95 masks to health care workers and expand their use in other industries after scientists argued that the highly protective masks are essential to keep workers safe from covid-19.

Use Our Content

It can be republished for free.

The changes come as U.S. mask-makers say the demand from hospitals is so sluggish that they’ve laid off 2,000 workers and fear some new protective gear companies could collapse. Yet in a letter to lawmakers, hospitals cite ongoing concerns about scarce supplies, saying limits on which workers should get N95s must stay in place.

Among the new moves: The Food and Drug Administration plans to eventually revoke its approval of the widespread crisis-era practice of decontaminating N95 respirators and returning them to front-line workers to use again.

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official also announced a tweak to its guidelines, which used to say the protective N95 respirators were reserved for health workers. Now they are “prioritized” for those workers but will be OK for bulk sales to other employers — a step that should boost overall demand.

A group of prominent scientists had written to the White House in February, saying a broader swath of U.S. workers need more protection from the airborne virus. And on March 1, U.S. mask-makers wrote to President Joe Biden decrying a glut of nearly 300 million N95 or equivalent respirators that were made in this country and sitting unused in warehouses.

KHN also reported that in January federal officials approved the export of U.S. N95s amid mounting unsold inventory, a move a nurses union leader called “unconscionable.”

Lloyd Armbrust, president of the American Mask Manufacturers Association, took a career U-turn to launch Armbrust American and start making masks near Austin, Texas, last year, troubled by “cheap, flimsy” personal protective equipment coming in from overseas: “We … decided to take matters into our own hands.” He said that he was gratified to see federal officials respond to U.S. mask-makers’ concerns and that he expects to see sales rise in coming months.

But he said it’s been a shock for the upstart industry to try and fail over many months to break into the U.S. health care market — dominated by large group purchasing organizations — where the preference to buy from China is ingrained.

“Who knows how many health care workers are getting infected, maybe dying, because of a logistics problem that doesn’t exist,” he said. “That was very frustrating. As a human, that was hard for me to understand.”

Armbrust said about 50 U.S. mask-makers the association represents reported in a survey that they’ve collectively laid off about 2,000 workers in recent months amid sluggish demand. They expect some companies to fail.

Mike Bowen, vice president of Prestige Ameritech, another Texas-based N95 maker, said he has reduced production because he has 11 million masks on hand. “I am waiting to see if [the] FDA announcement will make hospitals buy more N95s,” he said by email. “If they do, we’ll make what they need. We have a lot of N95 manufacturing capacity.”

Yet even through last month, the American Hospital Association cited supply chain concerns in a letter to lawmakers and endorsed existing CDC guidelines that allow health workers to use a surgical mask unless performing an aerosol-generating procedure. (Although some experts now say a cough produces more aerosols than such procedures.)

Another change by the CDC would allow major retailers like Amazon to sell N95s in bulk to businesses outside the health care sector, said Maryann D’Alessandro, director of the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health lab for personal protective technology.

Researchers and journalists have noted elevated workplace risk to bus drivers, meatpacking employees, and those in manufacturing and food processing who labor in crowded conditions.

D’Alessandro said the agency also approved several models of durable “elastomeric” respirators that are meant to be reused, including one by 3M, and signed a contract to add 375,000 to the Strategic National Stockpile.

That move might serve to protect more health care workers in the case of a variant surge or new pandemic. Health care workers were two to five times more likely than the average person to get covid, studies have shown.

KHN and The Guardian counted more than 3,600 health care workers who died over the past 12 months, many of them people of color and most working outside of hospitals. In interviews with families and colleagues, dozens raised concerns about inadequate protective gear.

Throughout the pandemic, workers who used N95 respirators were routinely asked to put them in a brown paper sack so they could be disinfected by gas, UV light or other means and then returned to them to wear again. Nurses have complained that the respirators, which are designed to be used once, come back misshapen or with a chemical odor.

The FDA on Friday sent a letter to health care providers urging them to “transition away from crisis capacity conservation strategies,” including the disinfection and reuse of disposable N95s.

The letter is one step toward revoking the “emergency use authorizations” that allowed companies to disinfect and reuse N95s, said Suzanne Schwartz, director of the FDA’s Office of Strategic Partnerships and Technology Innovation.

“That was never intended to be anything other than a crisis measure,” Schwartz said in an interview. “We want to be sure health care facilities are getting themselves in a situation where they have respirators or reusables in stock.”

Surveys by National Nurses United from November and February show that about 80% of nurses reported using reprocessed respirators.

The changes are “tiny steps” in the right direction but fall short of what’s needed to fully protect nurses, said Jane Thomason, lead industrial hygienist for National Nurses United.

She said about half of more than 9,000 nurses surveyed report working in hospitals where patients are not universally screened for covid, presenting the potential for pre- or asymptomatic patients to infect staffers.

The CDC guidance updated in February advising health workers to use N95s or well-fitted masks to care for covid patients remains nonbinding, she said, allowing employers to outfit nurses and other health workers in surgical masks instead of more protective N95s.

The practice has been controversial even after the initial supply chain collapse. Doctors on Twitter reacted strongly to a recent debate held by the University of Calgary where two academics pointed to evidence that covid is airborne — meriting N95 protection for front-line health workers. 

Another doctor argued that the coronavirus is primarily spread by droplets — a position held by many U.S. hospital leaders. 

Nurses called early in the pandemic for a high level of protection against an airborne virus, but in many places have had to stage protests to get it or go without.

Since last summer, mounting evidence has shown that health care workers in surgical masks were more likely than those in respirators to catch the coronavirus. Harvard researchers and those in Israel pinpointed specific instances when a patient or visitor in a surgical mask infected health care workers who also wore a surgical mask. 

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

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A Year Into Pandemic, Federal Officials Design New Mask Guidelines to Better Protect More Workers published first on https://smartdrinkingweb.weebly.com/

[schoolofmom]

A Growing Sense of Menace

Starting today people in our Maryland county are required to wear masks, at least when they go out to shop. Now that we’re living in the peak days of new Coronavirus infections/hospitalizations, I’m reflecting back on the early days.  Not too long ago, there used to be other news. COVID-19 and its effects were not the main thing on everyone’s mind.

The first cases of COVID-19 were reported in the US on January 21, 2020, the day after we brought my newborn son home from the hospital.  I have a general memory of hearing a bit about the new Coronavirus in China at that time but it did not trigger any feelings of concern for my family’s personal safety.  I certainly never imagined the world we are living in now- besides, I was busy planning a birth and caring for a newborn!  Thank goodness he was born then and not this spring, with people reportedly giving birth without their partners there, facing eerie prenatal visits, etc.

Because he was our last, my husband and I prioritized spending time with and enjoying our little son.  So I barely kept up on the news at all and information I heard or read was just incidental.  However, I did for the first time (out of 3 other births!) experience Postpartum Anxiety.  It could be coincidence but I think on some level parts of my brain were registering alarm at the growing Coronavirus menace.  I was happy but found myself crying frequently.  I knew my emotions were abnormal when I was finishing the Ken Burns documentary “Country Music” (which I’d started on bedrest!) and could not stop sobbing when they covered the song “Where Have You Been?” by Kathy Mattea.  

I became obsessed with my newborn son getting sick in general.  I felt like if he had a stuffy nose he would never breastfeed and grow too thin.  I was preoccupied with washing hands and kids not touching him except for the top of his head and the bottoms of his feet.  I refused to take him out in the cold for walks, to meet friends, etc., even bundled up or on warm days.

At the very end of February, I began tuning back in to the news.  I became increasingly alarmed.  I had heard somewhere about N95 masks by the company 3M being the only effective ones and called them to find out more.  The 3M customer service representative seemed surprised I was calling and was not particularly helpful.  I think sometimes about how many calls she must have received after mine!  I checked all the official authorized sales companies, called local hardware stores, and considered on driving my 1-month-old to Baltimore. Then I tried ebay. On February 27 I paid just over $100 for a 10-pack of N95 masks.  That got us 1 for each immediate family member, 1 for each set of grandparents, and 2 extra in case the kids destroy theirs.  I’m grateful I did.

At some point early on I heard a story about another country (Italy?) which was experiencing a run on paper products due to Coronavirus.  On March 3rd I was able to easily get a bulk-sized package of paper towels, long-lasting/cheap toilet paper, diapers, pull-ups, etc.  I felt a little silly wheeling all that out of Target at the time and storing it in what my husband and I called my “Corona corner” but I’m certainly glad now that I did!  Many people report they have low or no toilet paper now- I can’t imagine that in our house full of small kids! That night I guest-taught my daughter’s Girl Scout troop for their “Inventor” badge that when you see a problem you should generate many solutions then choose the best one.  I hope I’ve chosen the best one.

[mbgroupindia]

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[co-defend]

Wearing a face mask for all is a feasible option to stay protected against the rapidly spreading Covid-19. People suffering from allergies or asthma are advised to count on N95 masks during mild symptoms of the disease.

[co-defend]

The medical environment is continually changing, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. With such a lot occurring, there is a ton of disarray, especially encompassing deficiencies of Wholesale Face Mask suppliers and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

[co-defend]

The highly contagious Omicron virus has hit the world by storm with an extensive spreading approach among people. Once again, there is a maddening rush towards protective self and others by following the necessary precautions. Specifically, by using high-quality respirators like N95, K95, and more. Read on to know more.

[co-defend]

Omicron has been considered as the variant of biggest concern today with unknowing features & symptoms. It is spreading fast all across the world with an exponential speed leaving people and federal authorities in constant distress. Even the World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed the spread of new and potentially hazardous variants is spread across 38 countries on six continents. Still, people do not know the contagious frequency, symptoms, and overall impact of the virus.

[co-defend]

N95 masks or respirators offer an upscale level of protection against the airborne virus. The protective elements safeguard healthcare workers to subside the impact of the outbreak. Simply maintain a seamless supply of respirators and other safety gears by getting in touch with Co-Defend. It is one of the leading PPE equipment suppliers in the USA offering high-quality safety products in bulk.